The worst excuses for not paying the minimum wage have been revealed, as part of a Government campaign.

They included: "She doesn't deserve the National Minimum Wage because she only makes the teas and sweeps the floors".

Another excuse was that an employee "wasn't a good worker", according to investigators from HM Revenue and Customs.

One boss said: "I thought it was OK to pay foreign workers below the National Minimum Wage as they aren't British."

The Government has launched a £1.7m campaign to spell out minimum wage entitlements.

Business minister Margot James said: "There are no excuses for underpaying staff what they are legally entitled to."

She said people who thought they were being paid less than the minimum entitlement should contact the conciliation service ACAS.

Workers aged 25 or over must be paid at least £7.20 an hour under the National Living Wage, rising to £7.50 from 1 April.

Video:National Living Wage will increase from £7.20 to £7.50

For younger workers lower rates apply under the National Minimum Wage.

Those aged 21 to 24 should receive £7.05 from 1 April, up 10p on the current rate, while for 18-20-year-olds the rate will rise by 5p to £5.60.

For 16-to-17-year-olds, the rate is going up by 5p to £4.05 and for apprentices by 10p to £3.50.

A list of excuses from employers for not paying the minimum included the claim that it was part of UK culture not to pay anything for three months so workers could "prove their worth".

Another boss claimed to have signed contracts with workers not to pay them the rate, while in another case a manager speaking a different language to the accountant was blamed.

One employer said: "The National Minimum Wage doesn't apply to my business."

Other excuses included that workers thought of themselves as self-employed, that they should only be paid if serving someone in a shop - and not while on "standby" - or that they were "still learning".

Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, said: "Too often companies are skimming their profits out of the pockets of their workforce.

"It is a continuing reminder that, for too many working people, work in this country just does not pay."

Employers face a maximum fine of £20,000 per worker for paying less than the minimum.